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 Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Terence Jeffrey’s article at TownHall is a startling reminder of what could happen if Congress passes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).  He explains the case of a male bus driver in Utah who decided he wanted to use women’s public restrooms while undergoing hormone treatments to supposedly “change his sex.”  He sued his employer after they refused to allow his behavior, and the 10th Circuit Court upheld the decision of the employer to forbid his use of women’s restrooms.  CitizenLink comments on this case and clearly explains how ENDA could cause such cases to multiply across the country and would likely force employers everywhere to comply with such outrageous demands.

For more information on ENDA click here.

posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 9:46:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 9:44:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The UK’s Telegraph reports that new research suggests that adult stem cells could be used to regenerate damaged or disease liver tissue possibly eliminating the need for liver transplants.

For more news on the exciting successes of adult stem cell research click here.

posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 9:43:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports that the latest version of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which is due for reauthorization in the House, undermines important school choice provisions.

posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 9:42:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Startling new developments have arisen regarding the hate (thought) crimes bill.  Today Sen. Harry Reid offered hate crimes legislation as an amendment to the Defense Department reauthorization bill.  Because of the method he used to offer this amendment, it could be voted on as early as Wednesday but certainly by Thursday.

Please make every effort to call both your senators today and urge them to vote "No" on Senate Amendment 3035 (i.e. "hate crimes amendment") to the Department of Defense reauthorization bill! 

Hate crimes laws are unjust, constitutionally questionable, and a subtle, yet very real, threat to religious freedom.  For more information on hate (thought) crimes legislation check the AdvanceUSA home page or the hate crimes category at AdvanceUSA Blog.

To protect equal justice under the law and religious freedom, please call your senators today!

posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:27:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

This CitizenLink article powerfully explains some of the practical problems with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which makes “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity” a privileged legal status (on the same legal footing as race or religion) in employment matters.

For more information on ENDA check the AdvanceUSA home page or past blog posts in this category.

posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:21:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Associated Press reports on this story of outrageous anti-God sentiment in Madison, Wisconsin.  Apparently liberal groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation will not rest until all public recognition of God is forbidden.

posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:19:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews article excerpt:

A New Jersey court will hold an initial hearing on Monday on a lawsuit pro-life advocates have filed to stop a bill that would make taxpayers fund embryonic stem cell research.  They are challenging the bill Gov. Jon Corzine signed asking voters to approve borrowing $450 million to fund grants over the next 10 years.  The lawsuit says the bill fails to disclose that the money will also pay for human cloning.

For the rest of the story click here.

posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:18:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Monday, September 24, 2007

Many supporters of human cloning would have us believe that it is totally harmless.  This New York Times pieces reveals that cloning scientists are having a hard time recruiting women to donate their eggs because of the dangers and discomforts of egg harvesting procedures.  This has resulted in the increased demand for human/animal hybrid embryos (called chimeras) in order to make up for the lack of human eggs.  When human life begins to be looked upon as a commodity for the use of others, such unethical procedures will be increasingly in demand.

posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 9:33:03 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports on the encouraging story of Dixie Sisk who after years of agonizing cancer treatment for her multiple myeloma finally resorted to adult stem cell therapy.  Unlike embryonic stem cell research (which requires the destruction of human embryos and has not met with clinical success in medical treatments) adult stem cell research is ethical and has frequently shown real-world results.

Excerpt:

Dixie Sisk was almost 70 when she became a new woman.

 

After fighting cancer for 11 years, enduring 89 radiation treatments and surviving repeated rounds of chemotherapy, the Mercer County mother and grandmother decided it was time to try a controversial, cutting-edge treatment that could give her a chance at living cancer-free.

 

Doctors were skeptical of her chance for success, but Sisk agreed to a stem cell transplant in hopes of seeing her grandchildren grow up.

 

“I’ve got two grandsons, a 6-year-old and a 14-year-old. When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, all the doctors said they could give me was a band-aid. A band-aid doesn’t cover much,” she said.

 

Her cells were harvested from her own body, so Sisk never had to wait for a match or worry whether federal guidelines would allow research on the line of cells she needed.

For more exciting stories of adult stem cell successes check the AdvanceUSA adult stem cell page.

posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 9:30:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Friday, September 21, 2007
Senator Brownback (R-KS) has proposed a bill which would require women seeking an abortion to have the opportunity to see an ultrasound of their unborn baby before going through with the procedure.  The bill does not force women to view the ultrasound but simply requires that she be able to see it.  AdvanceUSA applauds this attempt to foster a culture of life by providing women with important information about the unborn human lives within the womb.

posted on Friday, September 21, 2007 6:22:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

AdvanceUSA has learned that Jennifer W. Elrod, one of President Bush’s nominees for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, has been recommended by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a voice vote.  Now two 5th Circuit Nominees (Leslie Southwick and Jennifer Elrod) await confirmation by the Senate and given the Senate’s dismal record on confirming judges (only 3 Circuit Court nominees this year) immediate action should be taken.

The following is an excerpt from Roll Call (subscription):

“Republicans are salivating over a fight with Democrats on judicial nominations, which they view as an ideal vehicle to charge the majority party with ‘obstructionism’ and rally their conservative base heading into the 2008 election year.”

posted on Friday, September 21, 2007 3:10:02 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Thursday, September 20, 2007

AdvanceUSA has obtained an email by the radical liberal group Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) calling on charter schools to cease religious activity.  Apparently the AU would rather protect the total “separation of church and state” which cannot be found in the Constitution, rather than the First Amendment which can be found in the Constitution.  Here is a press release from AU.

Below is the text of the AU email:

September 19, 2007


Americans United Calls on Washington, D.C., Charter School to Cease Religious Activities

 

School-Sponsored Religion At Washington Latin School Violates Constitution, Says Church-State Watchdog Group

 

A Washington, D.C., charter school that conducts graduations and other school gatherings in a church sanctuary and whose headmaster leads students in prayer is running afoul of the First Amendment, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

 

Americans United has warned that school-sponsored religious activities at Washington Latin School violate the principle of church-state separation and urged officials to cease conducting school gatherings in church settings and leading students in prayer.

posted on Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:08:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Deutsche Welle reports:

Cardiologists at Düsseldorf University Hospital said they have been the first in the world to use [adult] stem cell therapy to save a patient who suffered from a severe heart attack.

posted on Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:06:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports:

The Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act that was introduced in the U.S. House Tuesday would make it clear that fleeting expletives should not be allowed on radio and TV stations. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that Congress really didn't mean for such expletives to be considered indecent, and reversed fines levied by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

 

Rep. Charles "Chip" Pickering, R-Miss., said he introduced the bill to set the record straight.

posted on Thursday, September 20, 2007 8:05:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Wednesday, September 19, 2007

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Refusing to allow gay couples to hold civil unions in a boardwalk pavilion has cost a Methodist church group in Monmouth County its state tax exemption for the property.

 

The state Department of Environmental Protection on Monday stripped the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of a property tax exemption for the boardwalk pavilion…

Tax exempt status today, ____________ tomorrow.

UPDATE: Maggie Gallagher covers the story in a piece called “Can New Jersey punish Methodists for marriage?” at TownHall.

posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 9:03:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

From the NIH website:

National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it will begin implementing President Bush's Executive Order to explore methods to expand the number of approved pluripotent stem cell lines "without creating a human embryo for research purposes or destroying, discarding, or subjecting to harm a human embryo or fetus."

AdvanceUSA applauds the pursuit of cures and treatments from ethical and effective adult stem cells which have shown much better results than the unethical and uncontrollable kind derived from destroyed human embryos.


For more information check the AdvanceUSA stem cell page and adult stem cell page.

UPDATE: Read the NIH press release for a quick summary of the new policy.

posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:59:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

AdvanceUSA Blog recently reported on the move by federal prisons to ban all non-approved religious texts from prison libraries.  AdvanceUSA has learned that RSC Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), VAT Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL) have sent a letter to Mr. Harley Lappin, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, to ask that an inquiry be made into this possible breach of the free exercise of religion.

Click here to view the letter.  An RSC press release relating to this incident can be found here.

posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:21:22 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) today tried to offer his hate crimes bill as an amendment to the Department of Defense (DOD) reauthorization bill.  Fortunately, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was on hand to object to the unanimous consent motion required to consider the amendment “pending.”  After this objection Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) stormed onto the Senate floor vowing to get the hate crimes bill onto the DOD bill and said the hate crimes bill related to military funding because it sought to combat “domestic terrorism” supposedly aimed at homosexuals.  Here is an excerpt from Sen. Kennedy’s remarks:

I have every intention, with Senator Smith, at some time of offering the hate crimes legislation. I know the question comes up why are we offering hate crime legislation on a defense authorization bill? Well, the answer is very simple. the defense authorization bill is dealing with the challenges of terrorism and the hate crimes issue, to try and get a handle on the problems of hate crimes, we're talking about domestic terrorism, domestic terrorism.

Apparently Sen. Kennedy thinks those who oppose the federal prosecution of suspected thoughts and beliefs, who seek to uphold “equal justice under law,” and who oppose granting special legal privileges to sexual preference, are terrorists akin to Al-Quaida and the Taliban.

posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 9:25:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

A doctor who specializes in spinal cord injuries has come out in support of Missouri’s “Cures Without Cloning” ballot initiative to fully ban human cloning in the state’s constitution.  Excerpt:

Those who allege human cloning is necessary in the pursuit of these cures and treatments are providing false hope.

 

The Cures Without Cloning initiative would only prohibit research involving human cloning - nothing more, nothing less. There are plenty of promising research methods, including many forms of stem-cell research, that do not involve human cloning.

For more information on this important pro-life cause in Missouri check the Cures Without Cloning website or the AdvanceUSA human cloning page.


posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 7:59:54 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

It appears Gov. Schwarzenegger will uphold the clear “will of the people” and veto a bill that would establish same-sex marriage in California.  The blog Newser also reports on this story.

UPDATE:
On Monday Governor Schwarzenegger made his intentions regarding the “gay marriage” bill very clear.  Excerpt:

“It would be wrong for the people to vote for something and for me to then overturn it,” Schwarzenegger said. “So they can send this bill down as many times as they want, I won't do it.”


posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 7:56:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Maryland Supreme Court has upheld that state’s law banning “gay” marriage, but unfortunately it also left the door open for future legislative tampering with the institution of marriage.

posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 5:32:31 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Monday, September 17, 2007

CitizenLink link reports in this news article about why American business owners should oppose the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which slaps them with more government regulation and establishes legal privileges based on sexual behavior.  Focus on the Family has also released this helpful document which gives real-world accounts of how laws similar to ENDA have led to serious problems for businesses.

UPDATE: This LA Times piece (even though it attempts to paint a sympathetic picture) offers a startling glimpse of some of the difficulties and dangers (especially for small businesses) that will arise from legislation like ENDA which creates special privileges for sexual behavior including transgender issues (cross dressing, sex-change operations).

posted on Monday, September 17, 2007 10:00:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Ever heard the argument that “the religious right doesn’t have a monopoly on values” or has someone tried to convince you that fighting poverty and disease should take precedence over stopping abortion and preserving healthy families?  Frank Pastore’s column at TownHall sheds the light on these arguments and shows how liberals use contradictory reasoning to support them.

posted on Monday, September 17, 2007 9:59:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #